1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to operating systems for railroad car gate assembly doors and more particularly to a system which allows ready adjustment to promote proper gate door pair closing and locking and utilizes forces to open or close the gate door pairs which minimize system wear.
2. Prior Art
Mechanical systems to open and close the doors of gate assemblies forming part of hopper-type railroad cars are well known. The system configuration to a large extent is determined by the type of movement required to open and close the doors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,822 discloses a system where individual gate doors are slid between an open and closed position by manual rotation of a bar.
Where the doors are hinged respectively to the gate assemblies, a system as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,037 may be used to effect movement of all the doors at one time. In this case pairs of opposing doors of adjacent gate assemblies connect with a crank. The crank is equispaced between the gate assemblies but offset with respect to the doors of each pair. The crank is carried on a square shaft rotatively attached to a sill of the car. Also carried on this square shaft within the sill is a member which through a pair of bolts interacts with blocks secured to a pair of arms. The arms in turn are carried by bearings on the square shaft positioned on each side of the member. Ends of the arms are connected to an air cylinder by a series of connecting rods. The angular position of each crank may be adjusted by selective positioning of the bolts which rotates the member and square shaft accordingly. Selective pressurizing of the air cylinder opens or closes the gate doors.